We could say that the Buddha was teaching us to breath again. It’s said that the prince Siddhartha was sitting under a Bodhi tree, practicing the anapanasati (the mindfulness of breathing) when he gained enlightenment and became awake, a Buddha. He was aware of the whole experience of breathing. Through breathing he trained the mind to be sensitive to the body, rapture, pleasure, the mind, mental processes, impermanence, dispassion, cessation, relinquishment. And while breathing he learned to release the mind from suffering. In this session we explore turning towards experience with breathing.
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Intimacy and infinity: beyond inner and outer.
Recorded :
April 26, 2015 WorldwideInsight.org’s founding teacher Martin Aylward explores the tension we tend to feel between inner experience and outer engagement, self and world, being and doing. Martin leads a guided meditation and offer teachings on cultivating an inclusive practice, where our contact, curiosity and care go to whatever arises, whether ‘in here’ or ‘out there’.
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Deep Ground Living
Recorded :
November 10, 2024 How can we live from the ground of presence, being ourselves in peace with others, while doing what needs to be done? This Sunday we’ll explore what is essential for living in the midst of life with both peace of mind and peace of heart.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Ulla Koenig – Week of June 7, 2021
This week’s theme is: Mudita – Celebrating Aliveness. Our hearts possess infinite capacities: they can express friendship in the most surprising circumstances and turn with tenderness and care to those who suffer. But aside from kindness and compassion, there is also the potential for deep appreciation, ease, delight and joy within us. While such perspectives are always available, the access might be blocked by voices of doubt, shame or negativity. In the upcoming weekly sessions, we strengthen our capacity to find nourishing perspectives and to rejoice in the beauty within and around us with the help of guided meditations and practices for everyday life.
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Surrendering to awareness.
Recorded :
April 10, 2016 Often in spiritual practice there is the encouragement to observe. From that place of observation we attempt to “be with” what arises. When does that intention get colonized by the ego? Who is it that is “being with”? What is it that is “being with”? What shifts in our practice when we surrender what is…
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Nature as Dharma, Nature as Refuge
Recorded :
March 9, 2025 In this session we will explore how the natural world is not only a place to develop resilience in stressful times but also a profound source of wisdom, joy and equanimity, which are essential qualities that can nourish us when the world around us is in upheaval. We will draw on qualities of the earth…
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Martin Aylward – Week of Dec 6, 2021
Daily meditations with Martin Aylward.
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Daily Meditation Recordings, with Nathan Glyde – Week of Oct 25, 2021
This week’s theme is Making Sense of Self.
Although the Buddha encourages us to not indulgently ponder whether the self is real or not, he did offer us a way to explore how the sense of self appears. This methodology, called the khandhas (aggregates: the heap of heaps), exposes all aspects we gather together to create and hold to our sense of self: form (body); vedanā (subtle preference); perception; saṅkhāra (mental formations – like intention, attention…); and consciousness (knowing). -
The full range of the heart.
Recorded :
December 18, 2016 We call this ‘the season of goodwill’. A reminder to care for one another, and to wish each other well. This year, we find ourselves in more need of understanding and expressing our common humanness than ever. We use this week’s session to honour the human heart; to reflect together on both how we respond…
Discussion